Commuters could count the savings going by bus, says study

Published:15:23Monday 22 February 2016

Commuters would be quids in by taking the bus rather than travelling by car, according to the country’s biggest bus and coach operator.

Stagecoach carried out a cost comparison study over several high-traffic commuting routes and found that workers in Scotland could make annual savings of between £2674 (Glenrothes-Edinburgh) and £1135 (Stonehaven-Aberdeen).

Taking the national picture, bus travel costs were around 55 per cent cheaper than the same commute by car, saving passengers an average of more than £90 a month, according to the study.

Stagecoach looked at around 35 key commuter routes in Scotland, England and Wales, comparing the weekly price of hopping on the bus with the cost of fuel and car parking for the same journeys. The average savings - even with fuel prices being at their lowest levels for six years - would be enough to cover the entire annual energy costs for a medium-sized house.

The biggest savings in the UK were in the East of England, where bus passengers travelling between St Ives and Cambridge were 83 per cent better off, saving more than £5500 a year compared to motorists.

Robert Montgomery, managing director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “Fuel prices are at their lowest level for six years, but it is still miles cheaper to commute to work by bus for many people up and down the country.

“The average savings would pay a big chunk of people’s annual energy bills and for some it would fund the cost of a family holiday for a week in the sun in Florida.

“It’s also easier than ever before to catch the bus, with smart ticketing, bus tracking available via your smartphone and free wi-fi on many of our new buses.”

Stagecoach works with other major public transport groups in the UK, as well as campaign group Greener Journeys and local authorities to attract more people out of their cars and on to public transport to reduce pollution and congestion in the UK’s towns and cities.

The company is currently offering Dayrider tickets, which provide unlimited travel within a specific local area, for just £2 to passengers aged under 19.

It is also the only bus operator to offer a nationwide discount for jobseekers, giving those with a JobCentre Plus travel card a 50 per cent discount on their bus travel to help them find employment.